I’ve got nothing

 

The Prince of Tennis Vol. 3 (Takeshi Konomi, Weekly Shonen Jump)

 

This is a much beloved gay sports manga classic, and it didn’t take me long to buy in to the hype. It’s about a tennis prodigy named Ryoma and his first year on his school’s tennis team. The series is so intensely focused on tennis that, despite not being interested in the sport, compels me to read further since the author isn’t even trying to throw out gimmicks to catch the interest of casual readers. Or maybe he is. I don’t know, to me this manga is clearly gay, at least to the extent that I think twice when the phrase “My teammates have their eyes on you” is used. Seriously though, I do find this series interesting and I’d like to see if this moderately hidden aspect amounts to anything.

 

This volume involves Ryoma playing in doubles competition as part of a school tournament with one of his team mates. It’s suggested, through some strong visuals, that because both Ryoma and his partner are so good, they’re unable to compensate for each others’ non-existent flaws. As a result, they never “connect” as team mates. To win their important match, they merely cut the court in to two halves and play as individuals though with just enough team work to blow the game out of the water. I honestly wasn’t expecting such a clever subversion of Ryoma’s immense tennis talent. Though I think it can be said that author may be arguing that these two could still have a relationship, just one that is built on mutual strength and confidence rather then weaknesses.

 

In the end, our two leads childishly decide that they never want to play doubles again. The foreshadowing of future rivals at the very end adds an alternative perspective to the main story. We see that an angered player is about smash an opponent in with his racket, but is stopped instantaneously on command by fellow teammate. While it’s good that the guy didn’t follow through with the act, it’s also somewhat creepy that his team mate would have such a strong influence on him.

 

He’s the master of his domain

 

Daigo of Fire Company M Vol. 4 (Masahito Soda, Shonen Sunday)

 

Is it just me or is the initial rescue scene in this volume a metaphor for a creative process? The mission seems fairly standard and safe at first. The citizens on the fifth floor of a building that was caught on fire will be taken down with the lift, one by one, and Daigo is with them to keep them calm throughout the slow orderly procedure. At one point he starts noticing that the air is a strange color. This odd sight fills him with fear. He tries to get the firefighters on the ground to do something about it but he can’t clearly communicate what’s gotten in to him and as a result, he’s ignored. He decides that he has to get the people out of the building quickly. So he begins dropping them to the safety mattress on the ground below. This strange action almost becomes a form of performance art. The people below are shocked by the look of fear on the faces of the falling people, as if they now understand what Daigo felt when he saw the colored air. In the end, Daigo’s actions were justified. The reporter who witnessed the events is conflicted between his negative personal reaction of fear and anger and the fact that no one was harmed. He ends up writing a neutral article because of his professional duty.

 

This isn’t even the only time in this volume that Daigo acts on personal instinct in the face of public scorn and ends up being correct in his guesses. He’s been built up as an unstoppable firefighter, almost to the point where the thrill of the rescue missions is beside the point. He’s not only comfortable and free of professional constraints in emergency situations, but probably one of the best at his job when it’s all said and done. In the next volume he starts making promises that he’s going to focus more on doing things the right way. This change in attitude is inspired by his fan mail. I’m curious as to how this will affect him in the long run. Will fame go to his head and will he become a more conventional firefighter as a result or will he find a satisfying balance?

 

Quick Thoughts

 

Gimmick Vol. 1 (Kuroko Yabuguchi, Young Jump)

This manga is only worth a peek to see the difference the artist can make. The author of this series also wrote the solid Kindaichi Case Files and the quality difference between the two manga is, at least when comparing the first volumes of each, pretty big. I don’t have much else to say about this book. It’s an episodic action series where the do-gooder main character uses his special effect creating abilities to foil evil creeps and save cute girls. The only moderately curious thing here was how many moments of gory violence this volume contained, and how all of the gore is eventually revealed to be a special effect. It comes across like a lazy way to force the reader to re-examine his/her reaction to violence, or something.

Selected Pandemonium Vol. 3 (Ichiko Ima, Nemuki)

It’s becoming clearer and clearer that this series is not going to live up to the promise of the (awesome) first volume. I feel kind of bad about my reaction here since I haven’t really fallen for any mainstream series done by a yaoi artist and this is arguably the best. For those who don’t know, this series falls squarely in to the “person who can see the undead” genre. The two dull leads frequently get involved in the activities of spirits, that only they can see. The revelations and conclusions are usually throw-aways but the build up is well crafted. I particularly liked the one story where the main character suspects the boyfriend of a guest is behind a series of murders. It’s just disappointing when you find out some spirit was behind it all.

Card Captor Sakura Vol. 3 (Clamp, Nakayoshi)

This is single handedly my favorite volume of this bunch though I have a difficult time explaining why. The first part of the volume revolves around the mirror card. It’s taken up Sakura’s image, which is confusing people. It’s no big secret that this series is about images, so this scenario was bound to crop up eventually. There’s one scene where Sakura puts her faith in a fortune revealed by her clow cards. To me, it seemed funny that she’d be so trusting of images, when it’s that same attitude from those around her that’s causing trouble. 

The climax is built around the discovery that the mirror card is going to attack Sakura’s brother, and that Sakura must rush to him and defeat the card before he is killed. Roughly, that’s what happens. The difference is in the interaction between the card and Sakura’s brother. I won’t go in to all the details, but the card actually comes to care deeply for him. The atmosphere of this series is extremely upbeat, cute, unthreatening, ect, so it was interesting that found compassion was used as a substitute for danger and uneasiness.

This also sort of ties in to the second part of volume, which revolves around the shield card. Apparently the shield card has locked up an important case belonging to Sakura’s friend Tomoyo. The defeating and capturing of the shield card is a non-event but what’s revealed after the case is opened is another story. The items inside the case represent fond memories and feelings for Tomoyo and her mother. Some of them are shared with Sakura and well, some are kept hidden.

O-Parts Hunter Vol. 11 (Seishi Kishimoto, Shonen Gangan)

This is easily the weakest volume since the end of that initial government oppressors arc. To me it seemed like to much pointless world background and plot mechanics. What did jump out at me, more than it had previously, were the references to science facts and such. I haven’t checked to see if the information mentioned in the book are facts, and it’s somewhat besides the point if they are or not. The most interesting use of this was immediately after the fight between (fire user) Jin and (ice user) Shuri. More then just being at elemental odds, the two have different philosophies towards revenge and have been trying to convince the other that they’re wrong throughout the battle. Rather then letting the victory of the battle reflect the superiority of one point of view, the reader is informed that there is a limit on the coldest temperature but not on the hottest, so the hottest fire would inherently defeat the coldest ice. Hence the philosophical beliefs of the fighters were actually independent of the scientific laws of the manga’s world.